The Spanish government has thrown its support behind the campaign for Sevilla’s Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium to host the 2021 Europa League final.
At the end of last year, UEFA revealed that Austria and Georgia were also bidding to host the tournament’s final, with Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium and Tbilsi’s Boris Paichadze Erovnuli Stadioni also declaring interest in hosting the spectacle.
Declarations of interest are not binding and the final proposals will have to be delivered with the bid dossiers by 15 February 2019. The UEFA Executive Committee will select the successful host associations at a meeting which is scheduled to take place in May or June 2019.
Issuing a press release, Spain’s Ministry of Culture and Sport stated:“The Council of Ministers have today approved the Spanish government’s request from the Spanish Football Federation for the city of Sevilla and Sevilla’s ‘Sanchez Pizjuan’ stadium to host the UEFA Europa League final in 2021.”
The ‘Sanchez Pizjuan’ maybe seen as a fitting location for the Europa League final, given Sevilla’s rich history in the competition, having previously won it five times. The stadium, which was opened in 1958 has a capacity of 42,714. However, in March 2018 the club unveiled plans to expand the stadium by 4,382 seats, taking its capacity up to 47,074.